Lynn Hayes, 51, speaking exclusively to the Manchester Evening News from her home in Collyhurst, said ex-gang member George has previously said that ‘a group of his friends’ was responsible for the murder.

Mrs Hayes said today: “It has left me feeling sick. George has now claimed to be a reformed man. If that is true he should tell the police who did this.

“He has said that he is a mature adult. If that’s true he should give the names of those responsible to the police. It’s his so-called friends that should have saved him, not the appeal court.

“There is no appeal available for my son’s life. No amount of time will ever fix the heartbreak that my family continue to suffer each and everyday.”

Daniel was gunned down as he chatted with friends on Keele Close, Collyhurst, in 2001. A post-mortem examination showed he was killed by a bullet which hit him in the back and went into his heart.

Two days before his death, Daniel had been due to give evidence at Manchester Crown Court about the killing of his best friend Paul Ward, 16, who was stabbed to death in a street attack in Cheetham Hill.

Mrs Hayes said she didn’t even know that the appeal court hearing was due to be heard today.

She said Greater Manchester Police and the CPS didn’t let her know and added: “I heard about it from a friend who sent me a text after seeing it on the news.

“George said at the time that there was a code - that you didn’t grass on your friends. But he has now said that he is a grown-up. Well if he is a grown-up he should tell what he knows.

“Daniel was an innocent 18-year-old boy that never had any dealings with gangsters, gangs, drugs or territory wars.”